


Air Circulation (Between Our Lungs)

by EclipseMidnight (EternalEclipse)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Kissing, strong girls who do mechanics together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-29 04:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16736823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalEclipse/pseuds/EclipseMidnight
Summary: Rey comes across Rose doing some repairs, and they finish them together while trading stories. And, maybe, trading a bit more...





	Air Circulation (Between Our Lungs)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ErinacchiLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinacchiLove/gifts).



Rose glared at the mechanicals that weren’t quite lining up for a moment, before pushing back. She’d get back to it in a moment, there really wasn’t any kind of time to waste, but if she didn’t stop her hands from shaking then she was just going to mess them up more, and more broken things was the last thing anyone needed at the moment.

“Hey,” someone called from down the hall. Rose looked up as a woman walked up—someone she didn’t recognize. “I’ve been taking apart some of the ships the First Order abandoned. Some of it’s even useful. Do you need an extra pair of hands down here, or do you need the salvage more?”

Rose took a breath, thinking over all of the work they had to get done before someone got themselves together to take another swing at them. She glanced over at the mess she’d made of the repairs, which was actually less than she feared, even if she was still behind. “Ever taken apart these ancient small ship systems?”

“Oh, plenty of times,” the woman snorted, kneeling down to take a look at Rose’s work. “You’re fixing the air circulators? We’ve found a few of those intact, if you need them, though I’d still take them apart because who’s to say what the insides are worth.”

“I’ve got enough for this one, thanks,” Rose relaxed—at least the newcomer seemed to know what she was talking about.

“You’re Rose, right? Rose Tico? Finn told me about you.”

Finn? Rose turned back away from her work to scrutinize her. She hadn’t talked to Finn since… “You must be Rey then. He almost deserted for you, you know. I guess it’s good to have a face for the name.”

“Yeah, you too,” Rey said. And then she smiled, and Rose thought she could see everything that had drawn Finn to her. She was smart and skilled, based on how quickly she’d picked up what Rose was doing. Strong physically, based on how much she was lugging around, and emotionally—Rose had been a wreck for days after Paige had died, and there were rumors that Skywalker had been her father. And—that smile was beautiful, smudged with grease from the work they were doing and more genuine than anything she’d seen in ages.

Rey looked like she was going to leave, so Rose made a split-second decision.  “Want to help me get these done? They’re a mess and I’ve been staring at them for ages.”

“Sure!” Rey grinned at her again, something settling on her shoulders. It suddenly hit Rose that Rey probably didn’t have anyone to talk to, with Finn being grilled by the leadership and not knowing anyone else on board.

“Here—“ Rose pointed, explaining with her hands even as Rey grabbed a spanner to reopen the mass of wiring and mechanicals.

They lost several hours that way, moving down the rest of system with the aid of the bits and bobs that Rey had scrounged up beforehand. When they realized just how late it had become when they finally reached an ending point, they decided to just eat rations where they were instead of meandering their way back to wherever they were serving food that likely wouldn’t be much better.

“So, how did you meet Finn?” Rey asked.

Rose took a sip of water and rolled her eyes. “He really did try to desert. I think he thought you needed help or something, but in any case he was going to go look for you. I caught him trying to leave, and I didn’t believe it at all. We just lost a lot of people, and we had the First Order on our tail, and all he was thinking about was how he needed to go.”

“That doesn’t really sound like him,” Rey thought aloud. “When we met, he seemed like the type to do whatever he needed to do to do the right thing.”

Rose huffed. “That’s basically what I made him do instead. I think it worked, mostly, but I had to shock him with prod first. I guess he just needed new training. And maybe an appreciation for shiny things that aren’t First Order uniforms.”

Rey bumped shoulders with her, making Rose’s lips twitched up at her, before answering the implied question. “I think I’m going to stay too. Chewie wants to, and he says that if Master Skywalker was really my father, then he’s family, like an uncle or something. He says that Han said so too, though I don’t know anything about that. But I haven’t had any family in a while, and it’s not like I’ve got anywhere else to go. Besides, there’s a lot to learn here. General Organa said that she’s going to teach me what she can about the Force, once she’s better.”

“When we got here, they said the Resistance was supposed to be like a big family.” Rose flicked at some dust that had settled near her. “I think that was mostly because none of us had anything else waiting for us either, so we may as well worry about each other.”

Rey hummed, before brushing herself off. “I think we can finish this before it’s time to sleep, don’t you?”

“Sure.”

And so they went back to work, and as grateful as they had been for the change of subject they also seemed a bit more at ease. Pairing Rose’s understanding of the Resistance’s mechanics and Rey’s unconventional ideas about how to make things work, they got the rest of the system up in record time.

Rose walked Rey over to her assigned sleeping quarters, idly chatting and pointing things out as they walked past. When they reached her door, Rose made to turn away, towards her own room. It had been a long day, even if Rey had brightened it up. She wasn’t going to risk losing that brightness for the days to come. But Rey put a surprisingly gentle hand on her shoulder, and she turned more towards her.

“Can I kiss you?” Rey asked.

It was Rose’s turn to be surprised. “What?”

“Where I’m from, you go after what you want, to make sure the sand doesn’t wash it away before you can.” Rey’s eyes went distant for a moment in memory.

Rose brought her back to the present by pressing herself against Rey, pushing up on her toes. She was just barely tall enough that way to reach Rey’s lips. Rey leaned down, and they gripped each other as they came apart, and went in for a second, deeper, messier kiss.

Then their teeth clacked, and they pulled apart. “Sorry,” Rose whispered. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That’s okay,” Rey said. “Want to try again?”

**Author's Note:**

> Treat for the sw rarepairs event! I didn't think I'd have the time to write for it, but I really wanted to just write for a little and got inspired at the eleventh hour....though I haven't worked with these characters before so I hope they're not too ooc....but I hope you enjoy it anyway!


End file.
